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Fraud Protection Center

These days fraud is becoming rampant and it is important that you stay aware of how best to protect your accounts.

Be Alert to Impersonators - Make sure you know who is getting your personal information or financial information. Do not give out personal information on the phone, through the mail or over the Internet. Essential FCU will never ask or contact you for personal, account or Online Banking information.

Safely Dispose of Personal Information - Before you dispose of a computer, get rid of all the personal information it stores. Use a wipe utility program to overwrite the entire hard drive. Before you dispose of a mobile device, check your owner's manual, the service provider's website, or the device manufacturer's website for information on how to delete information permanently, Remove the memory or subscriber identity module (SIM) card from a mobile device. Remove the phone book, lists of calls made and received, voicemails, messages sent and received, organizer folders, web search history, and photos.

Keep Passwords Private - Use strong passwords with your laptop, credit, bank, and other accounts. Be creative: think of a special phrase and use the first letter of each word as your password. Substitute numbers for some words or letters.

Don’t Overshare on Social Networking Sites - If you post too much information about yourself, an identity thief can find information about your life, use it to answer ‘challenge’ questions on your accounts, and get access to your money and personal information. Consider limiting access to your networking page to a small group of people. Never post your full name, Social Security number, address, phone number, or account numbers in publicly accessible sites.

Equifax Announces Cybersecurity Incident

As you might have heard in the news, Equifax announced a national cybersecurity incident that potentially impacted 143 million US consumers. In an effort to keep our members informed and aware, we encourage you to visit Equifax’s designated website, www.equifaxsecurity2017.com. On this site, you will be able to identify if you were potentially impacted by this incident. Additional, Equifax is offering complimentary identify theft protection and credit file monitoring. Please visit www.equifaxsecurity2017.com for more information.